Interview with Cheryl Kaye Tardif

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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Can you
give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SUBMERGED is a thriller with a hint of supernatural, and I
think it's going to leave readers holding their breath. This is a story of
battling weakness and guilt, and finding redemption.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Marcus Taylor is a former paramedic and recovering addict.
Working as a 911 operator, he's drowning in guilt and remorse over the tragic
deaths of his wife and son. Rebecca Kingston is a mother of two and an abused
wife who has finally had enough. She decides to take a much needed weekend
holiday, but it doesn't turn out to be as relaxing as she'd hoped. Trapped in
her vehicle as it submerges, the only thing keeping her sane is a voice—Marcus's—on
the other end of her dying cell phone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">SUBMERGED is a standalone thriller. However, it has an
interesting tie-in to my international bestseller, CHILDREN OF THE FOG. And
vice versa.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
have a favorite character?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Marcus is my favorite. He's so human, so flawed, so angry in
his guilt. He has made mistakes and suffered for them. But he's also a very
likeable guy. He's trying to deal with his losses, searching for a better life,
for a future. And when put to the test, he's a hero who boldly does the right
thing.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Have you
ever had a minor character evolve into a major one? Did that change the
direction of the novel at all?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Actually, John Zur, the detective in this story was supposed
to be a relatively minor character. After all, Marcus is the hero in SUBMERGED.
But as I wrote, John became a more integral part of the plot. He started to
show up more often, and he always had some advice for Marcus. Interestingly, my
agent suggested I consider a third book featuring John (and Jay, the detective
from CHILDREN OF THE FOG), with tie-ins to the other two—even though these are
complete standalone thrillers. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
may happen.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Did you
try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Oh yes! And I have the rejection letters to show for it. In
fact, I could probably wallpaper my office with them—twice. I was traditionally
published by a small company in 2006. They released the second edition of WHALE
SONG. But they closed doors a few years later and I republished the novel for
its third edition.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I've also queried agents galore. I did sign with Jack Scovil
from Scovil Galen Ghosh Literary Agency a few years ago, but nothing much
happened and I discovered later he was ill and passed away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">In March 2012, after huge success with CHILDREN OF THE FOG
on Amazon (it made it to #4 in the Top 100 Paid OVERALL, out of almost 2
million ebooks and sold nearly 50,000 copies in a few months), I was contacted
by two agents. I signed with an agent from Trident Media Group in NY. </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Are you
currently under a traditional publishing contract for future books or do you
have manuscripts that you will self-publish?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I am under contract for future books, but I also have the
freedom to self-publish. My agent and I are working as a team, with not only my
career in mind but also my readers. It was my agent who suggested I publish
SUBMERGED on my own because she knew I had readers waiting and she didn't want
them to wait. Neither did I. Our game plan is to take SUBMERGED to a major
publisher once it has sold a substantial amount of copies, since I'll be able
to get better contract terms.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">If you
used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the
creative process for your cover?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I am very involved. I've made a point of finding talented
designers I can work with. I always have a concept in my mind that is very
detailed. I'm very artistic, but I don't work with cover designing programs, so
I describe my vision and my designers make it happen.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What is
your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I listen to mood music when I write. When I wrote WHALE
SONG, I listened to a lot of killer whale/dolphin music. With THE RIVER I had a
very tribal instrumental CD. WITH SUBMERGED and CHILDREN OF THE FOG I listened
to anything intense and driving. Usually only instrumental.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Do you
outline your story or just go where your muse takes you?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I make general notes of my story, anything that comes to
mind while it's fermenting in my mind. Once I start writing, it just takes off.
I always know the beginning, major scenes in the middle, and how it ends. I
allow my characters to tell their story <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">through</i>
me. They tell me where to go. ;-) </span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Did you
hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Definitely yes! I don't agree with publishing a book that
hasn’t been through at least 2 other sets of eyes. Mine go through numerous
edits by me, then by at least 2 editors, then by a final proofreader. Yes,
sometimes we all miss something, just like the big pubs do. But you'll find my
books to be fairly solid when it comes to editing.</span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">What
advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing
arena?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">I would give them the same wonderful advice a friend once
gave me. If you have a story idea and you want to write, write. Don't worry if it
gets published or <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">how </i>you'll publish
it. Write it for yourself. Write it because you <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">have</i> to.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Once you've written your book, learn everything there is to
know about the publishing industry. This is a business. If you plan to earn an
income from your writing, you must be marketing savvy. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">And never, ever let anyone tell you that you can't do it.
You can!</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mHv-KmVdbWc..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mHv-KmVdbWc..." width="133" /></a></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Learn more about Cheryl Kaye
Tardif at <a href="http://www.cherylktardif.com/"&g... style="color: blue;">http://www.cherylktardif.com</span...
and follow her on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif&... style="color: blue;">Twitter</span></a>.</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Amazon author page: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cheryl-Kaye-Tar...
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-style: italic; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">  </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">Enter Cheryl’s March Giveaway – 59 Prizes! </span></b><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com... style="color: blue;">http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com... />
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